Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

clanciai No praise is enough for this film. It is realistic cinema at its best concerning every single detail, from each individual soldier, the epic environment settings, the drama about the priest and his daughter, John Barry's terrific music, the constantly sustained almost unbearable suspense - many scenes are absolutely quiet and the most exciting ones as they always introduce something, - and above all, the overwhelmingness of the Zulu warriors. This all happened for real, and here cinema fulfills its highest mission in recreating and transmitting it all correctly. They are all ordinary men, Stanley Baker and Michael Caine are just ordinary soldiers, the priest is like any scared priest, his daughter (the only woman in the film) perfectly natural in her hysterics, and even in the baracks the soldiers and patients couldn't be more down to earth. This is cinema and cinematography at its most perfectly best - and a film difficult to transcend in excellence.

HotToastyRag While Zulu is one of the most famous war movies to come out of the 1960s, and there are many reasons to watch it, if you don't usually like that genre, you probably won't like it. Similar to the plot of 55 Days at Peking, one of my all-time favorite war films, this movie follows a small group of British soldiers, grossly outnumbered by the enemy, who try to hold out as long as possible.Among the soldiers are Lieutenants Stanley Baker and Michael Caine, as well as Nigel Green, James Booth, Neil McCarthy, Ivor Emmanuel, Paul Daneman, and Glynn Edwards. While sometimes Stanley and Michael differ in their views of how to command the troops, Jack Hawkins rants and raves of the virtues of peace because he's a missionary. Jack's daughter Ulla Jacobsson tries to help among the wounded men, but since she's the only woman in the movie, sometimes she doesn't get treated very fairly.It wasn't Michael Caine's first movie—I saw him in a movie from 1957—it was his first major role, so the studio gave him a large "introducing" credit. If you're a Michael Caine fan, and you can tolerate a long, tedious war film, you might want to see him two years before his overnight stardom from Alfie. Even if you're not particularly a fan, but you want to see him in an extremely handsome role, he looks particularly dreamy in Zulu.All in all, I was pretty bored—when I wasn't drooling over Michael Caine, that is. The film wasn't nearly as interesting as other war flicks I've seen, and even Richard Burton's official sounding narration wasn't able to save it.

tomsview When "Zulu" opened in Sydney in 1964 it had one of those big premieres that military epics received back then: searchlights, red carpet, a band and guests wearing medals. Shortly after, I took my brother to see it. "Zulu" ticked all the boxes for us.From Richard Burton's opening narration to his listing of the names of the Victoria Cross winners at the end, we were rapt.As well as the battle, those bare-breasted Zulu girls did not go unappreciated by a couple of young lads. You didn't see a lot of that sort of thing on the screen in those days. The filmmakers obviously got away with it under the old National Geographic Magazine rule of it's OK if it's the natural attire of the culture, it didn't stop them being hot though.The film still stands up even if the censorship of the day kept it relatively bloodless. Demonstrations show what a round from a Martini Henry rifle can do to a watermelon, no doubt it would have had the same spectacular effect on a human head. An assegai in the belly would not be as clinical as depicted in the movie either. But the best bits of the film were often the tense scenes waiting for things to happen and the one where the men drown out the Zulu chant with "Men of Harlech". I haven't a drop of Welsh blood, but that scene always puts a lump in my throat.The film is classy. Breathtaking photography, terrific performances from top to bottom and an awesome score by John Barry; music to perform heroics by.The film was a hit in Australia, but something unexpected happened not long after. In 1966, D Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment found itself surrounded by up to 2000 Viet Cong in a rubber plantation at Long Tan in South Vietnam. There were 108 of them, about the same number as the 24th Regiment at Rorke's Drift. They held off attack after attack. Instead of mealie bags they brought down artillery fire, but the fighting was at close quarters as they held their perimeter. By the time help arrived, 18 of them were dead (17 at Rorke's Drift) while the enemy lay dead in the hundreds. Controversially, there were no Victoria Crosses although more than one was earned. Years later, the company commander likened the battle to Rorke's Drift. But I wonder if while the battle was on, did it flash through the minds of the blokes who had seen the movie that what they saw depicted on the screen they were now experiencing for real?Would anyone make a film like "Zulu" today? Possibly it would be just too un-PC. Most battles on the screen these days are fought vicariously through intergalactic stormtroopers or by the denizens of "Game of Thrones".However, historical rights and wrongs aside, I still think "Zulu" rocks; it's simply an exceptional piece of filmmaking.

grantss Zululand, South Africa, 1879. The British are fighting the Zulus and one of their columns has just been wiped out at Isandlwana. The Zulus next fix their sights on the small British outpost at Rorke's Drift. At the outpost are 150 British troops under the command of Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard. In the next few days these 150 troops will fight about 4,000 Zulus in one of the most courageous battles in history.Superb movie. Based on actual events with a few dramatisations along the way. Stirring stuff, showing well the courage and heroism shown on both sides. Militarily accurate too.Solid performances by Stanley Baker and Michael Caine in the lead roles. This was Michael Caine's first starring role in movies and the role that launched his career.